FALL 2026
PG 4
BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:
DOG CREEK LODGE PG 8
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT:
BEN WHITE PG 10
TECH TIPS:
WHICH INTERBEL USER ARE YOU?
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WHAT’S INSIDE
FEATURE STORY: DOG CREEK LODGE PG 4
LOCAL & PERSONAL: KEEP YOUR INTERNET GROUNDED PG 7
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: BEN WHITE PG 8
TECH TIP: PG 10 THROWBACK INTERACTIVE GAMES
A MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER by JASON MOOTHART
WHO OWNS YOUR INTERNET? Dear InterBel Members, Somebody signed a note at a bank in 1962 so this corner of Montana could have telephone service. I doubt they spent much time picturing who’d be using that line sixty years later, but I think about them fairly often. Montana is a place built on distance. Everything is far from everything else. The way people here have always answered that is by building the connection themselves, because waiting on somebody else has never once worked. Phone lines. Power lines. The fiber under the road out front. That’s all a cooperative is. Neighbors deciding a place is worth it when the math says otherwise. I’d put that near the top of the list of Montanan things. We’re a proud people, and the pride tends to show up as work rather than talk. Nobody around here waited for permission to have a telephone. They went and got one, together, and then handed it down. Which is what makes you an owner rather than a customer. You inherited something people built on faith, it’s yours now, and one day it belongs to whoever comes next. The check we send you every year is a small reminder of that.
You’ll hear some big promises this year, a few from a long way off. Ask them where they plan to be in twenty years. October is National Co-op Month. Come to the annual meeting, vote, and sometime this month, ask a neighbor who owns their internet. Most people have never thought to ask. It’s a good question. With appreciation,
Jason Moothart JASON MOOTHART General Manager & CEO, InterBel
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IT’S JUST NICE TO ACTUALLY TALK TO SOMEONE LOCAL THAT KNOWS WHAT WE’RE DEALING WITH.” — BRETT SVETLIK
HOW INTERBEL HELPS DOG CREEK LODGE STAY CONNECTED IN RURAL MONTANA
A GAME-CHANGING PARTNERSHIP MORE THAN A LODGE IN THE WOODS WHEN STAYING CONNECTED Surrounded by 80 acres of Montana WAS A STRUGGLE
wilderness, Dog Creek Lodge feels like a place where you can get away from it all. But this resort is anything but disconnected.
Dog Creek Lodge welcomes guests for Nordic adventures, outdoor activities, events, overnight stays, and a restaurant and bar — all year long. Behind all of that is a business with five main buildings spread across a remote property — and all of them need to stay connected. For General Manager Brett Svetlik, who has been part of Dog Creek Lodge for more than 10 years, keeping all those pieces working together is part of the job. That became a lot easier when Dog Creek Lodge made the switch to InterBel.
Before InterBel, reliable connectivity was hard to come by. Dog Creek Lodge had struggled with both phone service and internet early in their operation, making it difficult to handle everyday business. They eventually turned to a national satellite internet provider, which helped, but the property’s older infrastructure meant they needed multiple accounts to keep everything connected. And getting help wasn’t always easy. When working with larger providers, Brett often found himself spending hours — sometimes days — trying to get the answers he needed. Whether it meant bouncing between calls, navigating automated systems, or explaining the complexities of the rural Montana landscape to someone unfamiliar with them, getting answers was frustrating.
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For a property like Dog Creek Lodge, communication is crucial. With InterBel, Brett has confidence in the voice on the other end of the call. InterBel employees live here, they understand rural businesses, and getting his questions answered by a real person makes a difference. “It’s just nice to actually talk to someone local that could understand what we’re dealing with,” Brett says.
FIBER CHANGED THE GAME When Brett first started talking with InterBel, he knew fiber could make a major difference. “I knew [fiber] would be a huge game changer for the business, for our guests, and for overall operations here at Dog Creek.” Before fiber, moving between buildings could mean losing his connection. Now, Brett can walk around the grounds and stay connected. That might sound like a small thing, but at Dog Creek Lodge, it changes how business gets done. One of the biggest improvements has been the ability to take lodge and restaurant calls wherever Brett happens to be. Through the InterBel app, calls come directly to his cell phone, allowing him to answer on behalf of Dog Creek Lodge.
I’M JUST GRATEFUL THAT IN SUCH A RURAL SPOT, WE CAN HAVE SOME OF THE MOST UPTO-DATE INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPTIONS OUT HERE.” — BRETT SVETLIK GENERAL MANAGER, DOG CREEK LODGE
Before, a missed call could mean a guest reaching an answering machine and moving on.
Now, Brett can give his guests what he values himself: realtime information and human connection. “I might be in town and I see someone’s calling the lodge and I can answer their questions right then and there.”
THE DIFFERENCE IS HAVING SOMEONE THERE For Brett, the biggest change isn’t just the technology. It’s the people behind it. InterBel’s team is local, which means they understand the communities they serve. They can come to Dog Creek Lodge, see the property for themselves, and work through problems alongside the people who actually use the system.
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“I work with the same people,” Brett says. “I can meet them in person and they’re always willing to come on site.” It’s the kind of support that comes from being more than a service provider. It comes from being a local partner.
BUILT FOR RURAL MONTANA Dog Creek Lodge is exactly the kind of place that can be overlooked when it comes to modern infrastructure. It’s remote, spread out, and surrounded by forest. But its guests and staff still need the same reliable connectivity they’d expect anywhere else. InterBel helps make that possible while understanding the place it’s serving. “I’m just grateful that in such a rural spot, we can have some of the most up-to-date infrastructure and options out here,” Brett says. Whether they’re locals making a day trip or visitors from across the country, guests can stay connected and use the technology they rely on every day — even while surrounded by Montana wilderness. For Brett, that’s a meaningful change for Dog Creek Lodge and for rural businesses across the region. “I feel like it’s a huge step ahead for not only our business but for the whole area.” Fiber may be the technology that changed the game. But for Dog Creek Lodge, having a local team that understands rural Montana — and real people on the other end of the phone — is what made the difference.
I WORK WITH THE SAME PEOPLE. I CAN MEET THEM IN PERSON AND THEY’RE ALWAYS WILLING TO COME ON SITE.” — BRETT SVETLIK
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KEEP YOUR INTERNET GROUNDED IN MONTANA
SUPPORT LOCAL. KEEP YOUR INTERNET GROUNDED. (406) 889-3311 InterBel.com 6 Dewey Ave, Eureka, MT
HIGH-SPEED FIBER RIGHT UNDER YOUR FEET—NOT FLOATING SOMEWHERE IN ORBIT.
Since 1962, InterBel has been memberowned and operated in the Tobacco and Flathead Valleys. We don’t answer to distant corporate boardrooms, we answer to our neighbors.
KEEP AND GROW YOUR LOCAL INTERNET
Symmetrical Gigabit Fiber Built to handle streaming, remote work, and Montana winter storms without dropping a beat.
Real Local Support When you call, you speak to someone in your community.
Upgrade Your Internet Visit interbel.com/internet
Capital Credits Back As a co-op member, you are an owner. Profits return to you and local Valley projects.
UpLink Tech Help Need help setting up a device or fixing slow Wi-Fi? Our local UpLink team has your back.
Refer A Friend! When you refer someone to InterBel, be sure to have them indicate you as the referral.
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EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
BEN WHITE:
ROOTED IN MONTANA, CONNECTED TO COMMUNITY For Ben White, Eureka has always been home. His family homesteaded in the area generations ago, making him a fourth-generation Eureka resident. He’s spent most of his life in the community, and even after moving away a few times, he always found his way back. Today, he’s helping serve that same community as InterBel’s outside plant supervisor — a role that builds on more than 15 years of experience.
FROM A NEWSPAPER AD TO A CAREER Ben’s career at InterBel started almost by chance. In 2011, he saw an ad in the newspaper for a part-time position and decided to apply. At the time, working in the telephone or internet industry wasn’t something he’d ever considered.
I ENJOY THE WORK, AND I ENJOY ALL THE PEOPLE THAT I WORK WITH.” — BEN WHITE
INTERBEL FALL 2026 | 9 “I kind of fell into it,” he says. “I applied, ended up getting the job and it just went from there.” He started part-time as a cable locator, spending two summers in the role before moving into part-time construction and eventually becoming a full-time employee. In 2014, he entered InterBel’s outside plant technician apprenticeship program and went on to spend more than a decade working in the field. This June, Ben stepped into a new role as outside plant supervisor. His days now start with the crew, going over scheduled jobs, answering questions, and helping troubleshoot when needed. While the transition has meant spending more time behind a computer and less time working outside, Ben has welcomed the change. “Being inside versus outside, hands-on, is probably the biggest change,” he says. “I enjoy it. It’s a challenge, but I enjoy something new.”
SERVING THE COMMUNITY HE CALLS HOME Ben’s years of hands-on experience give him a valuable perspective in his new role. He understands how InterBel’s network works in the field and can use that knowledge to help answer member questions and provide additional support for the team.
THE NEXT CHAPTER After nearly 16 years at InterBel, Ben has built strong relationships with the people around him. Many of his coworkers have been part of his journey from the beginning, and those friendships are a big part of what keeps him enjoying the work.
Some of the moments he’s enjoyed most throughout his career are the simple ones: showing up when a member needs help.
“I’ve worked with most of them for the entire time I’ve been here, so I’ve made some really good friendships and enjoy coming to work every day.”
“I’ve always enjoyed when you get to go fix a problem for somebody, like an internet outage or something like that,” he says. “Being able to fix it and educate them on how they could potentially troubleshoot it themselves in the future is cool.”
As he settles into his new role, Ben is grateful for the opportunity to continue growing at a company that has given him a career close to home. Above all, he’s grateful for his wife and kids, who he calls “the best part” of his life.
For Ben, that ability to help comes from years of learning the work and knowing how everything fits together.
For someone whose family has been rooted in Eureka for generations, there’s something fitting about building a career that keeps him connected to the people and place he calls home.
“Being in the job long enough to understand it all and helping my community makes me proud,” Ben says. That community connection is especially meaningful in a place like Eureka, where Ben says the small-town feel means being part of a close-knit, rural community.
LIFE IN MONTANA Outside of work, Ben’s life is just as connected to the Montana outdoors. He and his wife, Mandy, have been married since 2010 and have three children: Ava, Aurora, and Bridger. As a family, they enjoy getting outside whenever they can, whether that means camping, boating, fishing, or swimming on Lake Koocanusa. “I love the outdoors,” he says. “Hunting, fishing, riding horses, all of it. Just being outside in the mountains.”
BEING IN THE JOB LONG ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND IT ALL AND HELPING MY COMMUNITY MAKES ME PROUD.” — BEN WHITE
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FLOWCHART QUIZ
Tech Tips
WHICH INTERBEL USER ARE YOU? Follow the arrows to find your local match!
START
What is your biggest internet pet peeve?
Trying to get tech help from a robot. What happens when tech breaks?
Buffering during movie night. How many devices are online?
Just me and my phone.
THE STREAMER You just want fast, smooth connections without paying satellite prices. InterBel’s entry fiber tier was made for you!
The whole house.
THE HIGH-SPEED HOUSEHOLD Work calls, gaming, and 4K streaming happening simultaneously. You need InterBel Symmetrical Gigabit Fiber!
I call my nephew.
I just live with it.
THE UPLINK FAN You need a friendly neighbor to answer tech questions and fix nagging device issues. UpLink by InterBel is ready to help!
No matter your score, your local co-op has you covered. Call (406) 889-3311 or visit InterBel.com to claim your local plan!
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THE TOBACCO VALLEY CO-OP WORD SEARCH & TRIVIA
THE LOCAL CONNECTION PUZZLE
FIBER
Underground cables delivering symmetrical gigabit speeds across the valley.
COOP
Short for Cooperative—member-owned since 1962.
GROUNDED Keeping your connection local on Montana soil instead of sending it into orbit.
Circle the hidden co-op words below!
UPLINK
InterBel’s local tech support service—a neighbor to call when you need help.
EUREKA
Home base of InterBel headquarters at 6 Dewey Ave.
LOCAL
Real people answering your calls right here in Lincoln and Flathead counties.
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INTERBEL TELEPHONE COOPERATIVE INC. 6 DEWEY AVENUE EUREKA, MT 59917 OFFICE: (406) 889-3311 TECH: (406) 889-1500
LEARN MORE AT INTERBEL.COM
EUREKA OFFICE
6 Dewey Ave, Eureka, MT 59917
OFFICE: (406) 889-3311 TECH SUPPORT: (406) 889-1500
Follow us at @InterbelTelephone
OFFICE HOURS 8am-4:30pm M-F